Watanuki had his whole night planned out ahead of him. He would try out this new recipe he had stumbled upon on the internet since Yuko was out of town for tonight.

Maybe if I get this meal right, I could bring some extras for Himawari tomorrow. See what she thinks, he thought to himself, smiling at his day-off. And then his face fell into a small frown as he realized that maybe he should bring some for Doumeki as well. Good thing the moron had archery practice after school, or he'd have been pestered by him as well.

As Watanuki pulled the ingredients he had bought from the grocery store, onto the counter, he hummed.

Steak, carrots, tomatoes…

It had been a great day. Himawari had complimented him on how his eyes looked especially bright that day (the only reason they could've been bright was probably because he was excited to try the recipe after school). Even Doumeki hadn't been that big of an annoyance at lunch today.

In the living room, a glass crashed to the floor.

What was that? Watanuki froze before he walked toward the sound with caution.

"Oh crap," the boy whined as he prepared himself to run but it was no use. The spirits had already grabbed a hold of his leg, pulling Watanuki towards them.

He decided that maybe he should take up archery; see how Doumeki manages to stay so fit. Maybe it would help with escaping these damn spirits.

They liked to feed off his energy since it attracted them here in the first place.

Watanuki thought about it as he panicked.

No he wouldn't. He didn't need help from that idiot.

But as the spirits filled his thoughts, suffocated him, the thought that maybe he did need help. The small boy's knees collided with the ground as he scrambled in his pockets for his mobile.

The damn thing was never there when he needed it.

At last his hand scraped against buttons and he struggled against his blurring vision to see Doumeki's number in his call log.

There was a moment of hesitation as he held himself back. He didn't want to give in and admit it. But he could not breathe.

How had the spirits found his apartment anyway?

Nevertheless, he found the strength to push the green button and on the third ring, Doumeki picked up.

Doumeki was irritated from being called in the middle of archery practice, but since it was Watanuki, he figured it was something important. The tall boy wiped the sweat off his brow, the cell phone a little bit away from his ear, in case Watanuki had called merely to yell at him.

"Hell-" he had barely gotten to finish the word before the other had already interrupted him. He would've been annoyed until he heard the boy's voice.

"Doumeki?" The caller was out of breath and was losing consciousness quickly; but he didn't regret calling his friend.

Doumeki stood up straighter upon hearing the smaller boy's voice. There was something seriously wrong.

"Where are you?" Doumeki's voice filled the phone's speakers on Watanuki's end. Watanuki didn't have to explain, Doumeki had already known that he shouldn't have let his friend walk home today. Of all days it was the thirteenth and Yuko was off on a business trip. The boy had nothing else to do for the day so he had retreated to back to his apartment.

Doumeki cursed himself, grabbing his bow and placing it in its case, waving a goodbye to the other archers before pulling his gym bag over his shoulder.

Coughing and choking could be heard on his end. Watanuki had never experienced spirits as malevolent as these. At least they had never attacked him like this before. Maybe because Doumeki had always been with him every time there was this many.

He opened his eyes slightly and was clouded by the various shadows and voices.

"Watanuki," Doumeki repeated firmly, he didn't want to admit that Watanuki's voice had scared him, if not a little bit.

More coughing, but it seemed like Watanuki held on long enough to say a few more things.

"I'm at-" he coughed "my apartment-" he wheezed. The tall boy's thoughts imagined Watanuki's frail body being weighed down by the beings that only he could see. The archer's stomach churned in disgust.

"I'm on my way," Doumeki's voice was breathy now that he was running. He felt guilty that he was not there to ward off the spirits.

The sun was just setting on the horizon and he thought of Watanuki's pride. He knew it must've been really bad or he never would've called. The idiot would've thought it was some kind of game and that he had lost because he'd called for help.

Idiot.

"Doumeki?" God, he did not like the contortion of his friend's voice. His pace quickened as he turned a corner. Passers-by stared at him.

"Mm?" Doumeki managed in between labored breaths.

Watanukis' groaning resounded through the phone's speaker. The moron was always getting into trouble; more often when Douemki wasn't there.

"Hurry," Watanuki breathed before he passed out. He had merely whispered it. Luckily, Doumeki had heard otherwise he would've flipped trying to imagine what it was.

Static enveloped the phone line before Watanuki's mobile slipped out of his hand to fall next to him.

Beep Beep Beep

The tan boy's gaze was set as he neared Watanuki's apartment. He had never asked for something in exchange for keeping the spirits away from his friend.

They were friends; but the idiot was as clumsy as an elephant in a glass room. He rushed through the gate and fumbled with his extra key that he had kept in the pocket of his gym bag.

As soon as he entered, his eyes rested on Watanuki's small body sprawled across his dining room floor. Sweat beads dotted both boys' foreheads.

He dropped his gym bag and closed the door before heaving a great sigh.

When Watanuki opened his eyes, he was greeted by darkness. There was a lone light in the corner of his room, but he did not recall going to sleep on his bed. He didn't remember much except for walking home from school by himself the previous day.

Ouch, what happened? He became quite aware of a spot on the back of his head that hurt. Watanuki closed and reopened his eyes.

Surveying his surroundings, there was a candle lit in the corner of the room. A glass of water, pain-killers, and manga books were placed on the floor beside him. It was freezing tonight, had he left the window open?

A look of confusion crossed his face. When did I put that there?

He turned his head the other way and nearly jumped out of his skin, finding Doumeki asleep against the wall. One arm propped upon his knee to keep himself upright. The soft whistle as air moved through his lips resounded in the room.

The smaller boy sighed as he mustered the energy to walk to the cabinet in the hall that held extra blankets and bed sheets. Idiot goes to sleep without a blanket in this kind of cold. He retreated back to his room and draped the sizable blanket around Doumeki's broad shoulders.

The tan boy stirred in his tired sleep but quieted again.

Watanuki was relieved to be back under his covers from the cold and snuggled into his pillow before turning to Doumeki.

And Watanuki smiled unknowingly before drifting back into a dreamless sleep.